Nightmares
by Goldenrod
Summary: Lewa's suffering from nightmares, which is only the beginning of his problems. Little does he, or anyone else, know that he's been targeted by someone who lurks in the shadows, and it's not Makuta.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Bionicle.

Author's Note: Don't worry people, this story's not going anywhere, I just decided to follow a suggestion and divide it into chapters.

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Darkness. He was surrounded by darkness so pitch black he couldn't even see his hand in front of his face. He couldn't even tell which way he was going and, at the moment, he didn't really care, as long as it was away from there. However, that was easier said than done. How long had he been running? Minutes? Hours? Despite his legs beginning to feel very heavy, he forced them to pump harder and faster to keep moving. Worse, his legs tiring was already bad in itself, but it almost felt as if the darkness itself was trying to suffocate him. Suddenly, he tripped and fell. Slowly he got on all fours and panted hard as he tried to catch his breath. Silently, he prayed that he needn't run anymore. But, that prayer was not to be answered, at least not in the way he had hoped. "Toa," a hissing, mechanical voice spoke from the nothingness. Instantly, his rapid breathing ended with a sharp gasp and his eyes widened in fear.

"No," he cried out as he covered his ears, in a vain attempt to block out the voice. "Keep away!" He quickly got to his feet and ran. Yet, from somewhere in the shadows, an evil-sounding chuckle came.

"Where do you think you're going, little Toa?" a different voice with the same mechanical tone asked.

Stumbling over his own feet, he tripped again. This time when he gathered the strength to get up, the sight of what he saw made his blood run cold with fear. Though the figures' forms were masked in shadow, their six pairs of eyes were fixed solely on him and glowing with anticipation. "Stay away from me," he told them. "I want nothing to do with you." He took no more than two steps back when one of the hidden figures spoke.

"We're afraid you have little choice in the matter."

The next thing he knew, he felt himself falling as if the ground beneath his feet just disappeared, as if it was never there. He didn't know if there was any end to the pit or if it was bottomless because of the darkness. No matter how hard he tried, his elemental and mask powers wouldn't respond to his commands. And so he continued to scream at the top of his lungs as he continued to descend. Down, down, down . . .

"Oof," said Lewa as he landed on the floor. His eyes immediately flashed open, wide and as bright as fireflyers. He breathed fast breaths as his vision darted all around his surroundings. He saw a window, a door, his air katana, and his cot, from which he evidently fell. He let out a sigh of relief. He was in his hut in his village of Le-Koro; it was just a dream. Realizing what just crossed his mind, Lewa softly groaned as he got himself into a sitting position. This was the fourth nightmare he had this week alone. He edged his back against the cot, wrapped his arms around his bent legs, and let his chin rest atop his knees. Why was this happening? When was it going to end? Images of the nightmare were flashing through his mind when the door was swung open suddenly. Taken totally by surprise, Lewa gasped at the sight in his doorway.

"Toa Lewa, are you alright?" a gentle, elderly voice asked.

It was a voice Lewa knew very well and, hand to his heartlight, he urged himself to calm down. It was Turaga Matau. "It occurred-happened again, Turaga," he replied. "I had another nightmare."

"Another one?" asked Matau. "Speak-tell me about it."

Rather reluctantly, Lewa shared the details of the dream, all the while shaking as if he was reliving it all over again. Matau listened and watched; he knew this was very difficult for the Toa, but he felt it was absolutely necessary if he was to, hopefully, help Lewa. Although, the more he listened, the more he didn't like what he was hearing at all. Once Lewa was done, the Turaga gently ushered him back onto his cot and closed the door behind him as he left the hut. There, he waited. Inside, as tired as he was, Lewa was a little afraid of going back to sleep. However, after a few minutes, his eyes shut and his head nodded off to the side. Outside the hut, Matau smiled when he heard Lewa's soft breathing and silently walked back to his own hut, letting out a quiet yawn along the way.

The next day, Lewa found himself helping Onua and Kopaka fend off a quartet of Nui-Jaga who were threatening a team of Onu-Matoran tunnelers. Within a few moments, the three Toa sent the insectoid Rahi skittering down the tunnel. "Thank you, Toa," said one of the Matoran.

"Just doing our duty," winked Onua and he stashed away his quakebreakers. Just then, Lewa let out a little quiet yawn. Kopaka noticed.

"Tired?"

"Had a rough-hard night last night."

"Everything alright at Le-Koro?" Onua asked.

"Yeah, everything's sure-fine. Which quick-reminds me, I should be getting back." After bidding farewell to his brothers, the Air Toa took off down another one of the surrounding tunnels. No one saw the red eyes that were watching them.

He was surrounded by darkness, the darkness where he couldn't figure out if it was really alive or if he was just imagining things. Lewa remained where he stood, unable to decide whether to stay put or try to find a way out that place. Suddenly, he heard a frightening cackle. 'That quick-settles it,' he thought, 'I'm out of here.' But, just then, a pair of huge, serpent-like forms caught his eye, though he wished they hadn't. Worse were the twin pairs of piercing eyes that gazed upon him, cold and merciless. He was about to sprint away when something coiled up his legs, his torso, all the way to his shoulders in what felt like the blink of an eye. He felt it constrict, tightening its grip around him. He struggled to free himself, but whatever had him held him as effectively as a chain.

"You're not going anywhere," a hissing voice spoke.

"You belong to us now," a different voice added, though it too, had a bit of a hiss to it.

Looking up, he saw that something in the shadows was coming for him. He didn't know how, but he just knew that whatever was heading towards him was what was restraining him. Panic began to race through his entire being and he called to his brothers and sister, but there was no answer. The thing was getting closer and he could almost make out a familiar shape.

Lewa sat up in a flash, wide-eyed and gasping for air. 'Calm down, calm down,' he urged himself once the realization that he was in the real world came to him. Slowly but surely, his breathing returned to normal and he managed to relax. As he braced his back against the wall behind him, he made a mental note to talk to Matau in the morning. Then, doing his best not to let himself think of the nightmare, he went back to sleep. Outside, hidden in the shadows of the night and the foliage of the jungle, a huge form observed the Air Toa with its ominous red eyes. If the creature could, a sinister grin would've crossed it features. The Toa's resolve was weakening, it could feel it; soon it would be time to strike.

Matau sat in the middle of his hut, deep in thought. Earlier, he received a visit from Toa Lewa, who shared his latest dream with him. Now, he was trying to decide where to go from here. It was now becoming clear that not only Lewa might need more help than he could offer, but that what he had been fearing for the past three weeks had to be true. With a heavy sigh, he got up and went outside, hoping that a short walk might help him clear his head. 'Mata Nui, help me,' he said to himself.

Late that afternoon, Gali and Onua were busy trying to fight off a pack of Kavinika wolves. Some Onu-Matoran tunnelers had managed to break through a rock face, finishing a new tunnel entrance. Unfortunately, in doing so they found themselves face to face with the group of Rahi, who thought the Matoran would make a tasty meal. Now, the two Toa were trying to fend off the Kavinika while the little ones made their escape, a task they thought would be easy. However, the pack outnumbered the Toa and both guardians didn't really want to harm the creatures, just get them to find somewhere else to hunt. But, the Kavinika were either very stubborn, or not getting the message; they just wouldn't back down. One of the Kavinika leaped at Onua, but the Toa jumped into the air. Almost too late, he spotted another Kavinika trying to head him off. Without thinking, he twisted his body to avoid the Rahi's attack and flipped as he descended. Upon landing, he felt something in his ankle clench and cried out in pain as he fell to one knee, clutching it. "Onua!" Gali called, "Are you alright?"

"I twisted my ankle," the Earth Toa groaned.

Sensing weakness, the Kavinika closed in. Both Toa eyed them warily. "I'm afraid we're going to have to try something a little more drastic, brother," said Gali. The Toa of Earth was about to agree when a blast of wind sent three of the Rahi tumbling heads over tails on the ground. A shower of large rocks followed the wind, courtesy of Pohatu.

"Hey, Kavinika, go fetch," the Stone Toa called out to the yelping Rahi, who were trying to seek shelter from the stones. Kopaka helped Gali walk Onua towards the tunnel, the plan being that once they were all inside, the Earth Toa would use his powers to block the tunnel so the Rahi couldn't pursue any further. Tahu, Pohatu, and Lewa fended off the beasts as they inched their way inside.

"Now, Onua!" commanded Tahu. "Now!" Onua concentrated and, almost immediately, an avalanche of earth and rock covered the hole. Following the Toa of Earth's directions, the Toa trekked through the complex network of tunnels toward another exit. Just when they thought the tunnel wouldn't end, a light appeared and they walked out to find a starry sky lit by the light of a full moon. "Everybody ok?" Tahu asked.

"We're fine, Tahu," Gali answered. "But Onua's ankle's still hurt."

The Fire Toa nodded and saw that the group looked tired.

"We'll rest here for a while. Then we should head back to our villages."

All of the Toa agreed, and settled down. Kopaka noticed that Lewa lay down by a tree right away. 'He's so tired all of the time,' he observed, and made a mental note to keep an eye on the Air Toa.

Ten minutes passed and Gali decided to relax against a tree. Suddenly, she heard strange, quiet sounds that sounded close. Too close for comfort. Axes ready, she went to find out what was making the noise, only to drop them to her sides with a sigh of relief. It was only Lewa, who, apparently, was mumbling in his sleep. From the sound of it, he was dreaming, but, though his back was to her, Gali noticed that something was up with the Toa of Air. His arms were bent and pressed against his chest, and he was jerking his head side to side. Lewa was not only having a dream—he was having a nightmare, and a very frightening one. Stowing her axes away, Gali approached the Air Toa and knelt down. "Lewa?" she inquired quietly. When her brother didn't even stir, the Toa of Water reached out her hand for his shoulder. "Lewa, wake up."

This was crazy, almost insane. He could hear the evil, hissing voices that seemed to come from everywhere, yet nowhere at the same time. Because the voices kept overlapping each other, he couldn't make out a single word they were saying. Plus, every once in a while, he'd thought he'd spotted a blur of motion or got the feeling that something was very near. But every time he looked, there was nothing. "Who's there?" he called. "Show yourself." Only the inconceivable voices answered him. It felt like an eternity passed when he felt something touch his shoulder.

Lewa's eyes snapped open and, with a shout that one could only describe as that of a person nearly driven to madness, he pounced. It was then that he saw what, or rather who, he had in his grip. Gali looked back at him breathlessly with eyes that had a hint of fear in them. After getting over her surprise, she noticed that the crazed expression on Lewa's mask was replaced with confusion and disorientation. Soon, however, the disorientation changed into realization, as if his consciousness was slowly catching on that he was now awake. Equally breathless and with an expression of pure, absolute shock all over his mask, Lewa's flashing eyes glanced down at what he was perfectly positioned to do. His sister's hands were clutching his katana, the blade against her neck; one swipe and Gali would've been dead. Gali could plainly see the shock, horror, and disbelief in the Air Toa's eyes and on his mask. "Gali!" a voice called. Lewa looked to see his brothers lined up and looking right at him and Gali, including Onua, whose ankle had since healed. Their eyes were wide and bright, as if they couldn't believe what they were seeing. Lewa looked at Gali, then at the remaining Toa, and back at Gali again. In a flash, he scooted off of her and backed away until his back bumped into a rock face. The Toa of Water sat up, instinctively rubbed her neck, and glanced back at the Air Toa. Lewa had his head bowed down and his entire body was shaking uncontrollably.

"I'm much-sorry, sister," he shakily whispered so quietly it could barely be heard. "I'm so much-sorry."

"It's ok, brother," Gali said soothingly as she stood up. "It's ok."

Meanwhile, Tahu and the others stayed where they stood, unsure of what to make of what they were seeing. Snippets of what happened back there flashed through Lewa's mind—the look on Gali's mask, the uncertainty in her eyes, his own blade against her throat, his brother Toa looking like they just caught a possible traitor red-handed. "Lewa," said a familiar no-nonsense voice that could only be Kopaka's. Looking up, he faced his fellow Toa and a silent tense minute passed before Tahu decided to step forward.

"Lewa, what happened?" the Fire Toa asked. In the past, Tahu would've immediately assumed the worst, but he had long since learned to know Lewa better than that and trust him and he waited for an answer.

Lewa stole a glance at Gali, and the Water Toa nodded with what he could sense was an encouraging smile. The shaken Toa of Air released a deep breath and prepared to explain. But, before he could utter a word, he felt something pull hard around his waist and towards the rock wall where he was now being sucked into a black hole. Tahu didn't hesitate and he had hold of Lewa's wrists in the blink of an eye. The other Toa didn't need to be told twice and grabbed onto the Air Toa's arms and torso. For a minute, there was a lot of pulling and tugging until it seemed that the Toa gained the upper hand. Tahu urged the others to keep pulling and, slowly but surely, inch by inch of Lewa's form was wrenched free. However, more black tentacles wrapped themselves around the Air Toa's legs and reached for his upper arms. Kopaka was about to use his ice blade against the things when two more tentacles formed out of the hole and pounded the ground with such force, the shock sent the Toa flying back. Two of the tentacles were successful at grabbing hold of Lewa's left arm and pulled it in. Tahu, though, somehow managed to hang on to Lewa's right wrist through the attack and gripped it tightly with both hands. However, his strength alone was not enough to keep the Toa of Air from being dragged into the darkness, which was now starting to envelope his figure. "Tahu-brother," Lewa cried, "help me--" Just then, the black hole engulfed his head, cutting off any further pleading. Tahu doubled his efforts at pulling the Toa of Air out, but they were in vain. His grip on his brother's wrist began to slowly slip down to his hand. For a moment, there was pause in the struggling, neither side gaining nor losing. Then, just like that, the Fire Toa lost his grip and fell to the ground. He looked in time to see the green hand about to disappear.

"No, Lewa!" he exclaimed and was back on his feet in a flash.

However, he was not quick enough to grab hold before the hand vanished, as did the black hole. For a brief moment, he frantically searched and felt around the rock, as if hoping he would find someway to go the same way Lewa did, but he knew it was useless. He started pounding the wall in frustration, feeling like he had let his brother Toa down. "Lewa, Lewa!" He was about to hit it again when he felt a cold hand on his shoulder. He looked over to find Kopaka looking at him with a serious expression on his Akaku.

"Bashing that rock is not going to save Lewa, Tahu," said the Toa of Ice. "Let alone improve the situation in any way."

It was hard, but the Toa of Fire was successful in willing himself to calm down. As much as he hated to admit it, Kopaka was right, which left only one thing they had to do, and he hoped it would give them any clues as to where they could find the Air Toa. With a nod, he took the lead in a run towards Le-Koro, his remaining brothers and sister right behind him.

At Le-Koro, Kongu was about to call it a night when he heard something like the tramping of feet on the ground below. Looking down, he spotted the Toa. "Greetings, Toa," he waved.

"Kongu, is Turaga Matau here?" asked Pohatu.

"He's in his hut meeting with the other turaga. Why?"

"We need to speak with him," called Tahu. "Tell him it's urgent. It concerns Lewa."

The Le-Matoran saluted and ran to fetch the turaga. The Toa, meanwhile, made their way up onto the walkway. Within minutes, Matau appeared. "Toa, what has occurred-happened? Where is Toa Lewa?" the turaga asked.

"He's been captured, Turaga," Tahu reported.

The expression on the Turaga of Le-Koro's Mahiki fell, as if a great weight had just been placed on both his mind and shoulders. "Turaga Matau?" Gali inquired.

"Come with me to my hut, Toa."

"But Lewa--" Onua began.

"Before you are to rescue-save Toa Lewa, you must be warned-prepared for what I much-fear you are to face," the turaga interrupted, and he led them to his hut.

To say the least, all of the Toa were surprised to find that their turaga were gathered in a circle as if they were holding council. "I deliver-sent word to the other turaga earlier," Matau briefly elaborated.

"Why?" asked Onua.

Vakama stepped up. "Toa, judging from what Matau has shared with us, we fear an enemy from the past has returned and, for some reason, it has targeted Toa Lewa."

The Toa each sat down in a circle around the gathered turaga and prepared themselves to listen. Although, somehow, they all shared the feeling that whatever they were going to hear, they weren't going to like it.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Bionicle.

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"Lewa has been having nightmares?" asked Gali after the turaga were done speaking.

"That's correct, Gali," Nokama replied. "Ones that were as disturbing as they were frightening."

"But we all get those every once in a while," said Tahu, who was not understanding why this was worthy of discussion, let alone what it had to do with helping Lewa.

"For almost an entire month?" asked Vakama.

"Lewa's been having nightmares during the whole month?" Onua inquired, taking the question right out of the Fire Toa's mouth.

Turaga Matau nodded solemnly. 'No wonder he's been so fatigued lately,' Kopaka thought to himself as he reviewed the past few times he had interacted with the Air Toa. It all made sense, as if all of the pieces of a puzzle had just been put together.

"Why weren't we informed of this sooner?" asked Pohatu.

"At first, I believed-thought it was just a phase," Matau explained. "But, when the dreams started recurring so often, I had Toa Lewa speak-tell them to me, much-hoping that I could help him somehow. Now, I've come to realize that it was far-out of my hands from the start-beginning."

"In fact," Turaga Onewa spoke, "we now believe that Lewa's dreams were not exactly dreams at all. They were messages."

"From who?" Tahu asked with impatience in his voice. He was now more eager than ever to get on with a rescue mission. The turaga, meanwhile, almost seemed to hang their heads, as if they were dreading to respond.

Lewa woke up in a dark cavern lit only with a few spread out lightstones. He was about to get up when he discovered to his surprise that he couldn't move his arms. Looking around himself, he found that he was shackled to the ground by black strap-like tendrils on his wrists and ankles. He tugged at them with every ounce of strength he could muster, but the straps held fast. "I wouldn't bother if I were you," a familiar voice spoke from the darkness, and the Air Toa immediately halted his efforts of escape and darted his head in every angle he could, trying locate the one the voice belonged to.

"Those things could subdue a Kane-Ra bull," another voice said, and it hit Lewa like a blow from the aforementioned beast.

'I've heard these voices before,' he said to himself.

"Indeed you have, Toa," said yet another voice, startling Lewa.

"You've heard-read my mind?"

"Don't sound so surprised," a menacing voice spoke. "We are very familiar with your telepathic connection with the swarms. Therefore, we can hear your thoughts with little effort."

At first, the Toa of Air was confused, but once he put two and two together, an expression of shock and fear could be seen on his Miru. "No, it can't be," he said shaking his head. He didn't want to believe it, but the solution that came to him was the only logical one he could think of. He became aware of the sound of footsteps walking toward him. First, six pairs of silver feet came into the light. As the rest of the forms followed, Lewa couldn't help but widen his eyes as he found himself staring at too-familiar creatures. Creatures he had thought long defeated. "Bohrok-Kal," he gasped as he continuously blinked his eyes, his brain unable to comprehend what he was seeing.

"Yes," Tahnok-Kal answered.

The Air Toa shut his eyes. "This is all just another nightmare," he whispered to himself. "Pretty much-soon I'll wake up." The metallic, cold laughter of Gahlok-Kal made him snap his eyes open.

"We're afraid this is as real as it gets, Toa."

"The Bohrok-Kal are back!" exclaimed Pohatu, unable to believe his ears.

"We're afraid so, Pohatu," replied Whenua.

"But how is that possible?" asked Tahu. "We defeated them months ago."

"That's just it, Tahu," Kopaka spoke. "Though their mechanical shells were destroyed, the krana-kal that controlled them were not."

"That's right," Gali agreed. "The krana-kal managed to escape their 'vehicles' before they themselves fell."

"But then, how is it that they are back?" asked the Toa of Stone. "Many of the machines were ruined when their powers became too great for them to handle. And, why would they want Lewa?"

After a tense moment of silence, Vakama stepped up. "As for how they came back, we cannot say. The only thing we've been able to conclude is that, somehow, they either got their old forms reconstructed or replaced. As for why they would want Toa Lewa, as of yet, they must wish to use him as a means to get to the rest of you." Tahu recognized the tone in his turaga's voice. It was one where he wanted to give something concrete for the Toa to go with, but couldn't.

"At least this time they didn't go around stealing our power symbols," Pohatu said in a half-hearted attempt to lighten the mood. Nobody even cracked a smile.

Standing up, Tahu cleared his throat, "C'mon, Lewa needs our help."

"But, Tahu," Gali called as her brother headed for the door. "We don't even know where they could've taken him."

Kopaka nodded in agreement, "I really doubt that they would take a chance at the Bahrag's old lair again."

"We'll go back to where Lewa was abducted," Tahu replied. "Maybe we'll find something there." The other Toa, though, looked doubtful and Pohatu stood up.

"Tahu just might have something there. Besides, if we're going to find them, we've got to start somewhere."

With that said, the remaining Toa had to agree and they all followed their two brothers out of the hut. The turaga reached the guardrail just in time to see the five Toa running down a path below. 'May Mata-Nui watch over you, Toa Nuva,' Turaga Vakama prayed as he and his fellow turaga watched the group vanish into the jungle.

Meanwhile, Lewa could hardly believe he was encircled by the six Bohrok-Kal. As the Air Toa struggled against his bonds, he asked, "How is it that you're--"

"Here?" Pahrak-Kal finished. "As I believe you will recall, we were successful in escaping our 'bodies' before we were destroyed ourselves. For weeks on end, we were left to scuttle around this island's underground tunnels, when I happened to come across this." The Bohrok-Kal stepped aside to reveal a large and strange black stone. It seemed to give off an aura of pure darkness and evil. "Naturally curious," Pahrak-Kal continued, "I went closer to it. As soon as I touched it, I felt this mysterious energy coursing through me, and the next thing I knew I was in my metal shell. Realizing the stone's potential for our purposes, I set out to find my brethren."

"Pahrak-Kal found us all," Kohrak-Kal cut in. "And soon all of our shells were restored to us. And, the very first thing we had on our minds was the extermination of you Toa."

"And we could still finish the job," said Lehvak-Kal. "Starting with you."

It lifted its claw-like shields and sent out a beam of power at the Toa. The next thing Lewa knew, he was gasping for breath, the air sucked out of his lungs. Lewa knew what was happening—the green Bohrok-Kal was using its vacuum power to extract all of the oxygen in the space that he was occupying. His mind screamed for air as he fought and writhed as much as his restraints would allow him. Soon, he found himself getting weaker and weaker, to the point where he dropped all effort of escape. His breathing slowed down to a dangerous rate and his vision began to blur. He was blacking out when he faintly became aware that someone was shouting and the sound of metal striking metal. All of a sudden, Lewa's eyes opened wide and he found himself coughing and gasping for air. Once his vision returned to normal, he spotted Lehvak-Kal rubbing its helmet and growling, as if it wanted to argue but knew better. Lewa noted that the creature seemed to be—panting. "Why . . . haven't you--" he began to ask as he caught his breath.

"Destroyed you yet? Considering we could easily do so when there's no hope of you freeing yourself?" Tahnok-Kal finished for him. "Quite simple really, part of the reason is though the crystal did give us back our bodies and powers, our powers themselves are not yet up to the strength we once had. So, at least for a time, we cannot use our powers without draining our energy."

"And what's the other half-part?" Lewa asked.

"They don't harm you, at least their not supposed to, because we told them not to," a voice answered.

"We've decided that, for the moment, you're more useful to us alive than dead," continued another voice.

Lewa scanned the shadows, attempting to discover the sources of the voices. He knew that neither came from any one of the Kal, therefore it had to mean one thing—there were two more beings in the chamber. "Did I forget to mention that once I had my brethren gathered, we also used the crystal's power to bring back some familiar faces?" Pahrak-Kal mockingly asked. Then, it stepped to the side, allowing the captive Toa to view a familiar form. At first, it looked like a giant block of protodermis, but, when he looked harder, he saw that there were two giant figures. Twin pairs of red eyes began to glow, and Lewa knew what they had to be—Cahdok and Gahdok, the twin Bahrag queens of the Bohrok swarms.

Meanwhile, back at the site of Lewa's abduction, the Toa arrived. "Now what do we do?" asked Pohatu.

"Onua, can you sense or hear anything?" Tahu inquired.

The black Toa placed an ear against the rock. He knew this was a long shot, but, as Pohatu said, they had to start somewhere. Kopaka watched and let out a quiet snort of mild irritation. 'This is ridiculous; Lewa could be anywhere. What does Tahu hope to find?' Just then, the Toa of Earth stiffened his movements, immediately catching his brothers' and sister's attention. From past experience, they learned to know that whenever he did this, it meant he found something.

Gali approached him, "What is it?"

The Earth Toa raised a hand, asking the others to remain silent. A few more moments passed and Tahu joined him.

"Brother, do you hear anything?"

"Yeah."

"What?"

"Voices and I recognize one them as Lewa's."

"Are you sure?" asked Gali.

Onua nodded, "They're faint, but they're there."

While the Earth Toa took out his quakebreakers, Kopaka, Tahu, Pohatu, and Gali backed away. Onua then revved his tools to life and got to work doing what he did best—digging. Within minutes they were moving forward through the little inlet Onua created. Finally, they caught a break when the quakebreakers revealed some sort of hollow space in the rock. The Toa of Earth turned to Tahu, who nodded his head, and gave another push. The earth gave way and the group walked in to find themselves in a tunnel. "Where does this tunnel lead to, Onua?" questioned Gali.

"I don't know. I'm not familiar with it; there's not even supposed to be a tunnel here."

Kopaka found this rather unsettling. If no Onu-Matoran built this, then who or what did? And for what purpose? Near them, Pohatu felt the walls of the tunnel. "This tunnel was dug fairly recently," he observed. "And judging from the size and width, I'll give you all three guesses as to what made it." The other Toa didn't need three guesses for they already knew what had to be responsible for the tunnel.

"The Bohrok-Kal," Onua growled as he clenched his fist.

If those monsters did anything to his brother, they were going pay, and dearly. Tahu's voice snapped him back to reality. "Onua, can you determine which direction we go from here?" Onua closed his eyes and willed himself to focus. The same voices he heard earlier still sounded soft and faraway, but were loud enough to tell him what he needed to know.

"That way," he announced, pointing ahead of him.

"Then let's go," urged Tahu.

The Fire Toa took off down the tunnel with the rest of the team close behind.

'Mata Nui, please don't let us be too late,' Gali silently prayed.

"Unfortunately, for all its amazing powers, we have been unsuccessful at using the stone to free our queens," Kohrak-Kal explained. "That's why they still remain in that blasted prison you Toa formed."

"But, we will soon remedy that when the time is right," said Gahlok-Kal.

Lewa gave another tug at his bonds before asking, "What do you desire-want with me?"

From within the protodermis prison, Gahdok laughed. "Why revenge, of course. Then, once we are freed, we're going to lead the swarms into doing what they were meant to do—cleanse the island and remove all obstacles."

"And you, Lewa, are going to help us with this mission," said Cahdok.

"Not-never!" exclaimed the Toa of Air with eyes slightly narrowed. Why those creatures ever thought that he would help them was way beyond him.

Gahdok's eyes, however, could be seen gleaming. "You don't have a choice."

Cahdok nodded to Gahlok-Kal, who nodded back and briefly left. When it returned, it was holding something in its right claw. At first, Lewa had difficulty determining what it was. But, as the blue Kal came closer, the form in its claw became more visible. The Toa of Air recognized the thing and widened his eyes in horror. It was a krana, a Krana Za to be exact. "Not just any krana, mind you," said Gahdok. "That is the very same Krana Za that infected you."

Gahlok-Kal rejoined the ring of its brethren. Then, Lewa became aware the Pahrak-Kal was approaching him. Realizing what the bronze colored creature had in mind, the Air Toa instantly began to struggle against his bonds. "No," he instinctively pleaded, "No, don't." Pahrak-Kal knelt beside him and reached for the Toa's mask. Try as he might, Lewa couldn't even slip a hand free and the monster grabbed hold of his Miru. "No, no, noooooooooo," he cried as he felt his mask being pulled off of his face.

In the tunnels, the Toa heard their brother's scream and shared the feeling that their hearts had stopped. Forcing themselves to get over their shock, they willed their legs to move faster.

Lewa dropped to the ground with a soft thud and a feeling of weakness flooded his form. Woozy and vision slightly blurred, he looked up at Pahrak-Kal, his mask in its claw. He tried to struggle again, but found he didn't have the strength to do so. Gahlok-Kal then proceeded to place the krana on the Air Toa's face. However, it only took two steps when an explosion rocked the chamber, sending rocks everywhere and forcing the Kal to shield themselves. "What in the world--" began to ask a stunned Kohrak-Kal before it was cut off. Soon, the rest of the Kal found themselves under attack, being sent to the ground in the blink of an eye.

Tahnok-Kal was the first to work its way to its feet when it heard a voice demand, "Leave him alone, Bohrok-Kal."

Peering into the clearing cloud of rock dust, the creature could not only make out a familiar form, but also a pair of red eyes that blazed like hot flames. "Toa Tahu, how good of you and the others to save us the trouble of hunting you down," the red Kal greeted in a mocking manner as the dust cleared, revealing the rest of the Toa. "A rather unanticipated bonus for taking your precious Toa of Air captive."

Lewa perked when he heard the name and looked in the direction the Kal were facing. Despite his vision being all fuzzy and distorted, he was somehow able to make out the forms of his brothers and sister and felt a sense of hope well up in him.

"Look," said Pohatu as he pointed at the cage Cahdok and Gahdok were in. Though they did expect to find the Bohrok-Kal and the Air Toa, they weren't expecting to find the Bahrag. Tahu, though, was the first to get his mind focused on the task at hand.

"Release our brother this instant," he commanded, pointing his sword at the line that stood between them and Lewa.

"Never," Levahk-Kal responded. "You want him? You're going to have to come and get him."

"That can be arranged," the Toa of Fire smirked, confusing the Kal.

"Look out!" Gahdok called out to the Kal.

But her warning was too little too late. Each of the Kal were blasted away by powerful spouts of water. Gali, who had used the darkness in the chamber to her advantage in order to sneak behind the monsters, leaped to Lewa's side and was shocked at what she found. "Brothers," she called, "they've removed his mask. Find it." She then returned her attention to the Toa of Air, but froze when a shadow descended upon her. She turned to spot Lehvak-Kal about to bring its claws down on her. However, using her aqua axes, she blocked the attack and, from there, it was a test of strength. Meanwhile, Lewa vainly tried to free himself to help the Water Toa, but could do nothing more than watch helplessly. Suddenly, he felt something slimy crawling on his side. He looked to see what it was and, with a little effort put into focusing his weakening vision, he saw it was the krana. Somehow, it had found its way to him, despite the fighting going on, and was now slowly but surely slithering toward his face.

"_Almost there_," the krana spoke to him in his mind. "_And_ _then, it will be just like 'old times'; you will help us fulfill our destiny_."

The creature was on his chest now, soon it would be upon him and no one was paying attention. He tried to wiggle the krana off of him by shaking his body, but the creature wouldn't let go.

"Gali," he croaked, trying to get his sister's attention.

Fortunately, Gali heard him and saw what was happening. "Sorry, Lehvak-Kal," she said to her attacker. "But, playtime's over." She shoved the monster away from her and gave it another blast of water that sent it across the chamber. Just when the krana was about to establish contact with the Air Toa's face, Gali grabbed it and threw it against the wall. It fell to the ground, out cold.

"Sister," said Lewa weakly, "h-help me."

"We will, Lewa, don't worry," the Toa of Water assured her brother as she knelt down. Gently, she clanked her fist against his hand, and, in spite of how weak he was, he returned the gesture.

Suddenly, Tahnok-Kal screeched so loudly, the Toa had to cover their ears. "Bohrok-Kal, use your powers," it hissed.

"But they're not yet up to full strength," Gahlok-Kal pointed out.

"Use them I say," the red Kal commanded. "They're close enough to full strength."

"Gali, stay with Lewa," Pohatu called to her. "I've got a bad feeling that this is going to get ugly."

"Yeah, alright," the Water Toa replied, and she planted herself between the upcoming battle and the Air Toa.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Bionicle.

* * *

Onua faced off against Nuhvok-Kal, hands interlocked with claws. For a few moments, the two combatants wrestled. Then, with a powerful shove, Nuhvok-Kal pushed the Earth Toa away and fired a bolt of energy. The bolt made its mark, forcing Onua to the ground. Even though the Kal's power was not like he remembered, Onua had to admit that its powers were still very effective. Pahrak-Kal couldn't get a lock on Pohatu, who was too agile. The Stone Toa was about move in for an attack when he stopped so suddenly, he almost toppled over. For a brief moment, he couldn't understand why he couldn't get his feet to move; it was as if they were glued to the ground. No, not glued, magnetized. He looked around and, sure enough, he spotted Gahlok-Kal nearby. Apparently, the blue Kal took advantage of the Toa's distraction and used its power to magnetize his feet to the ground. Nodding to its partner, Pahrak-Kal activated its power and aimed it at the ground, turning it into plasma. The plasma spread—right toward the Toa of Stone. Kopaka could feel himself tiring from dodging both the Lehvak-Kal's and Kohrak-Kal's attacks. He had tried to freeze them with his ice powers, but they were too quick. Tahu, meanwhile, was locked in a sword-claw fight with Tahnok-Kal. Then, the red Kal rolled itself into a ball and barreled itself toward the Fire Toa. Tahu flipped into the air, exactly as the Kal anticipated. Quickly unfurling itself, the Tahnok-Kal fired a beam at the Toa of Fire. Streaks and bolts of electricity assailed Tahu's body and systems, causing him to scream in pain. He crashed to the ground, thrashing and writhing in complete agony, feeling like hot rods were being jabbed into everything. Kopaka heard his brother, "Tahu?" The two Kal he was fighting saw their opportunity and they took it. In tandem, they fired their powers at the Ice Toa, who didn't have time to react when he realized what was happening. The Toa of Ice found his mind assaulted both by absence of air and a terrible, ringing sound. He dropped to his knees, covering his ears and coughing. Gali stared in disbelief and shock; all of her brothers were either disabled or getting pulverized. Slightly weakened as they were, she could tell the Bohrok-Kal still had more than enough fight in all them combined to take care of her. She was about to stray a little further from her post, when a large form, Nuvohk-Kal, was upon her faster than her eyes could register. With a butt of its head, it struck her, sending her crashing into the wall. Seizing its chance the Kal sent a bolt of its power toward the Toa of Water. Gali immediately felt like she weighed fifty times more than normal and collapsed on all fours. In three easy strides, Nuhvok-Kal approached the Water Toa, who found herself having to fight the weight of gravity just to lift her head. She noticed that the creature's legs were buckling and it was heaving its shoulders up and down, as if it were panting.

'It's exhausted,' she realized, 'but why?'

The black Kal, though, didn't give her time to ponder on that for, just then, with great effort it raised its claws high above its head. It intended to crush her. As much as he wanted to, Lewa couldn't even find the strength to fight at his bonds, leaving him an unwilling witness to see his sister meet her almost-certain demise.

"Good bye and good riddance, Toa," the Nuhvok-Kal hissed. Gali, however, somehow managed to spot a familiar shape moving toward the Kal and grinned behind her Kaukau.

"I hate to disappoint you, Nuhvok-Kal, but you'd better look behind you."

"Do you honestly expect me to fall for such a pitiful trick?"

The Kal was about to bring its claws down on her when a black form rammed into it, knocking it away. Onua knelt beside the Toa of Water.

"Are you ok?"

"Ask me when I return to normal."

Nodding, the black Toa raced to go help his brothers.

The plasma was coming closer; soon it would be upon him. Pohatu strained and pulled his legs. He could feel the magnetic hold on his feet was loosening, but it wasn't enough for him to free himself. He could already feel the plasma's heat not only in the air, but on the ground as well. Just when he was starting to really panic, a wall of earth appeared between him and the approaching plasma. Needless to say, both Gahlok-Kal and Pahrak-Kal were rather surprised. "What happened?" asked Pahrak-Kal. Gahlok-Kal just shrugged its shoulders when the wall exploded with a bang. Then they were both knocked to the ground, courtesy of Onua and Pohatu. After exchanging a quick fist-punch, they went to go help their two brothers.

Tahu lay on the ground where he had fallen, shaking, panting, and hurting from his shock treatment. He could hear the approaching footsteps of Tahnok-Kal. The red Kal was halfway to the Fire Toa when Pohatu stepped in and intervened. While the Stone Toa kept the Kal busy, Tahu spotted something in the corner of his eye. It was a green Miru Nuva—Lewa's mask. Groaning from the pain that assaulted his body as he turned onto his front side, he reached out to grab it. His muscles felt like they had been fried, yet somehow he forced himself to move. He just grabbed it when he heard Pohatu shout, "Tahu, look out!" The Toa of Fire turned with barely enough time to activate his Hau and defend himself against the incoming Tahnok-Kal and the red Bohrok-Kal was thrown back by the force of Tahu's shield. The Toa stashed away the mask and his brother helped him to his feet.

"Are you alright?"

"Down, but not out."

Meanwhile, Lehvak-Kal and Kohrak-Kal were moving in on the Toa of Ice, who was beginning to recover from their combined attack. They were about to strike the finishing blow when the ground beneath them gave way and they fell into a deep pit. Popping out of the ground, Onua smiled at his handiwork then turned to help Kopaka. "I'm indebted to you, brother," said the Ice Toa, realizing what the black Toa did for him.

"Hey, it's what I do."

Meanwhile, Lewa continued to try free himself, but it was no use. Doing his best to ignore the painful burning sensation in his legs, Tahu sprinted to his brother's side. "Take it easy, Lewa," said Tahu as he approached the Air Toa. "Got your mask right here."

He knelt down and carefully placed the Miru onto Lewa's face. Instantly, the Toa of Air felt strength and power flooding his limbs; his entire body feeling totally reenergized. When his sight returned to normal, the first thing he saw was the Fire Toa relievingly smiling down on him. "Hi, brother," Lewa greeted with a mischievous smile.

"Hi yourself, Lewa," Tahu replied, and he grabbed one of his magma swords and began to cut away at the Air Toa's bonds.

Unfortunately, the Toa's battle was not over yet. While Gahlok-Kal, Pahrak-Kal, Tahnok-Kal, and Nuvohk-Kal were regaining their bearings, Kohrak-Kal and Lehvak-Kal were climbing out of Onua's hole. "Finish them," Cahdok and Gahdok hissed from within their prison. The Bohrok-Kal surrounded the Toa; despite their exhaustion, they still refused to back down, especially when they were so close to achieving their goal. As this was happening, the effects of Nuvohk-Kal's powers had worn off on Gali. Grabbing hold of her arm, Lewa helped her up.

"There's got to be some way to stop them," she said to herself as much as to her brother.

"There is," said Lewa, and he pointed toward the back end of the cavern.

The Toa of Water spotted the black stone, but didn't know what to make of it.

"That strange-weird stone is what gave them back their power-strength as well as their body-shells. If we shatter-destroy it--"

Gali nodded, understanding exactly what Lewa was thinking. "Brothers, aim your powers over here!" she instructed. The other Toa targeted the stone and were about to fire when Kopaka placed a hand on Tahu's forearm.

"Wait!" exclaimed the Toa of Ice. "How do we know that destroying that stone will work in our favor?"

"How do we know it won't?" asked Tahu in a bit of an annoyed tone.

Onua knew where the Ice Toa was going with his suspicions. True, there was a possibility that destroying the stone would stop the Bohrok-Kal; but, then again, there was the chance that nothing would happen. The Toa of Earth looked to the Bohrok-Kal and back at his brother. "Kopaka, normally I'd go for making absolutely sure we know what we're doing, but right now I don't think we really have a choice." The white Toa looked the Earth Toa in the eye, and nodded. Just then, Lewa cringed and pressed his hands over his ears.

"Lewa, what's wrong?" Pohatu asked with concern in his voice.

"_Clean it all, it must be cleaned_," the voices said in his head—Cahdok and Gahdok's voices.

The phrase repeated over and over and the Bahrag twins began to fill his mind with disturbing images that were not his own. "_No!_," he exclaimed in response to message. "_I won't aid-help you complete your quest-mission. I'm not like you. Get out of my mind!_" "Hurry!" the Air Toa called to his brothers and sister. "Destroy the stone!"

The Toa nodded and did as their brother asked, the combined strength of their powers meeting their target. There was a blast of blinding light, the stone shuddered and shook. Amidst all of this, the Bohrok-Kal screamed in pain as black electrical-like energy danced all over their bodies. Its support gone, the stone crashed to the ground. However, in spite of a large chunk that broke off upon impact, the stone remained largely intact. The Toa stared at it in confusion.

"Is it over?" asked Pohatu.

The Stone Toa's question was answered with what could only be described as laughter. They turned to see it was Tahnok-Kal; it and its brethren were weakened, but still standing. "What, may I ask, is so funny?" Tahu demanded.

"You Toa are such fools," Tahnok-Kal answered. "That stone, like us, cannot be broken that easily."

'But it almost did,' Tahu thought to himself. 'It just wasn't quite enough. Maybe if we hit it again one more time . . .' Unity. The word just popped into his head from nowhere, as if it were always there, but hidden away. At first, Tahu didn't understand, then he thought back to his and the others' attempt to destroy the strange stone. One element was absent; they were missing a piece to the puzzle. He turned to Lewa, who was now on his knees. "Lewa, we need your power," he instructed.

The Toa of Air nodded and struggled to get up. To him, it felt like the harder he fought, the louder the Bahrag's voices became. Too weak to call on its power, Pahrak-Kal leaped toward the Air Toa, the remaining Bohrok-Kal following its lead. Tahu, however, managed to activate his Hau's shield, keeping them at bay. Suddenly, an eruption of earth and stone occurred between the Toa and the stone with Nuhvok-Kal in its epicenter. It was about to strike Lewa with its claws except Pohatu tackled it to the ground. "Lewa, quick," the Stone Toa called. "Do it now." Though Lewa nodded in response, he could barely focus hard enough to summon the winds. The voices and images were now so overwhelming, he couldn't think straight. He then felt a hand on his shoulder that was accompanied with a chill that woke him out of his slight daze. Sure enough, he found it to be Kopaka.

"You can do this," the Toa of Ice encouraged.

Somehow, Kopaka's voice muted the Bahrag's communication in the Air Toa's mind, thus allowing him to concentrate and he fired his power at the weakened stone. Lewa pushed himself far past his limits and, just when he felt he couldn't push himself any further, he felt his brother grab his lower arms and a surge of power from Kopaka added itself to his own. The stone began to shake violently and bolt-like energy wrapped around it. The Bohrok-Kal screamed in pain as they found themselves going through the same thing over again, this time far more powerful and excruciating. Finally, the stone and its chunk shattered into many pieces. Suddenly feeling exhausted, Lewa would have collapsed if Kopaka hadn't caught him. "You did good, brother," the Toa of Ice praised with a slight smile.

Hearing a faint chattering sound, the Toa turned around to see the Bohrok-Kal shells lying on the ground, scorch and burn marks all over their armor and looking like they've been crushed by Kane-Ra herd. Also, the Krana-Kal that controlled them were weakly crawling either on the floor or halfway out of the shells. Extremely tired both from the fight and their efforts, they just let themselves drop. "Look kind of pathetic now, don't they?" Tahu asked no one in particular.

"What happened to them?" wondered Pohatu.

"It was the stone," answered Lewa. "They were bound-connected to its power. Now that it's shattered-destroyed, the power is gone, and they are back to what they were—slimy slug-bugs.

"So, what should we do with them now?" asked Onua.

"They are no threat to us now," said Gali. "Let's just get out of here."

"That's what we thought the last time," Pohatu pointed out. "And look what happened."

"For once in a long time, I have to agree with Pohatu," said Kopaka. "What if they somehow strike again?"

"Then we'll fight them again," Tahu simply replied, and led the way back into the tunnel from which they came.

Just as Lewa was about to follow, he heard voices in his mind call to him—Cahdok and Gahdok. He turned to face them; they were trying to get him to help them and the Bohrok swarms finish their mission. He snorted in response and proceeded to the tunnel. Feeling a little dizzy and tired, he stumbled. But, Onua slipped the Toa of Air's arm across his shoulders and supported his brother.

A week later, the Toa decided to pay Le-Koro a quick visit. Neither one of them had heard from or of Lewa since they'd returned from the cavern and were anywhere between interested to anxious to find out how he was doing. The group's silent walk was broken by a startled shout from Pohatu who found himself, in the blink of an eye, pulled up into the air and hanging upside down by his right leg. "Brother, are you alright?" asked Gali as she and the others gathered around him.

"Yeah," the Stone Toa replied. "But what in the world--"

"A trap," answered Kopaka, who looked up into the trees.

Pohatu followed his gaze and saw that his foot was caught in a vine tied into a noose. Suddenly, a large green form dropped down beside Onua. It was Lewa, hanging by his legs from a branch. "Greetings, brothers and sister," welcomed the Toa of Air.

"Hi Lewa," said Onua. It was then that Lewa spotted Pohatu and just couldn't hold back a mischievous grin.

"Fancy find-meeting you here, brother."

"Very funny," said the Toa of Stone as he crossed his arms over his chest. He and the other Toa had a very strong suspicion that the Air Toa was somehow involved with the prank.

"So, how are things, Lewa?" questioned Onua.

"Sure-fine, thanks," Lewa answered as he lithely flipped down to the ground.

"No more nightmares?" asked Gali.

"Never-none."

"That's good," Tahu commented as placed a hand on the Toa of Air's shoulder.

"Excuse me," grunted Pohatu, "but could somebody please get me down?" Onua firmly gripped his fellow Toa's ankle while Kopaka swiped at the vine with his blade, and the Earth Toa let Pohatu down gently.

"Have to admit, brother," said Lewa. "For a Toa-hero of Stone, you make a pretty good braka."

The Stone Toa glanced at Onua and back at the Air Toa. Before he could react, Lewa found himself under attack by small pebbles. When he dared to look, he saw Pohatu heading for him and he took no more than two steps before being tackled to the ground. Shortly after, Pohatu was joined by Onua and Tahu. Gali laughed at the sight while Kopaka watched.

"Aren't you going to join them?" she asked.

Kopaka gave her an odd look, as if asking her how she could think the Toa of Ice would ever do such a thing.

"Just kidding," the Water Toa replied with her hands up.

Soon, the four Toa tired of their wrestling and either sat, knelt, or lay on the ground panting. Noticing that he and the others were practically covered in mud, Onua turned to Gali with a silent question in his eyes. Gali simply smiled and used her water powers to summon just enough rain to allow her brothers a quick shower. Once they were clean, the entire group bid farewell and went their separate ways to their villages. Taking hold of his air katana, Lewa leaped into the sky and flew for Le-Koro.


End file.
